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An Affordable Way To Manage And Create Secure Passwords On A Mac

Monday, April 13, 2015

Passwords have become all the rage among users and app developers these days. With online hackers seemingly able to hack their way into any computer system anywhere at almost any time, it’s not wonder we’ve become a bit paranoid about managing and creating secure passwords. Some of the utilities that do just that are packed with useful features and a price tag to match.

If you’re a Mac user on a budget but still interested in security, here’s the app to choose. It’s called Vault Password Manager. Sounds secure, right? Don’t let the price tag fool you. This is a clever app with a good balance of features and simplicity.

Here’s a perfect example. Vault gives you instant access to login IDs and passwords right from the Mac’s Menubar. 99-cents more gets you browser extensions for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. A search field means you can have hundreds of passwords and find the one you need now with a click. See?

Unlike the more expensive password manager apps, Vault requires you to unlock and copy login data. Walk away from your Mac and Vault locks up. All the data you save in Vault is protected by 128-bit AES encryption (with SHA256 hash).

Power users will appreciate the keyboard shortcuts to unlock, copy, lock, and even create new passwords. Although browser extensions are an extra cost item, they’re extremely valuable and worth the 99-cent upgrade (Vault itself is only $2.99 on the Mac App Store) which makes it much easier to auto login to websites in each browser.

Negatives? Not so much negative as shortcomings. There’s no option to sync login and password data between Macs, and there’s not an iOS version for iPhone or iPad. But Vault may be the easiest of all to setup and use, and it’s priced right.

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